Combined mirror and cabinet



S. C SCHONFIELD COMBINED MIRROR AND CABINET Filed May 11, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 yi in SIMON C. SCHONFIELD Sept- 7'1948 s. c. sci-IONFIELD` 2,448,836

I COMBINED M-IRROR AND CABINET F`i1ed May 11, 1945 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Sept. 7,

UNITED srA'rEs PATENT OFFICE auasas confirman manon AND CABINET simon c. schenden, Youngstown, ohio Application May 11, 1945, serial No. 59am (ci 31a-112) 9 Claims. l

This invention relates to -a combined mirror and cabinet structure and moreparticularly to a unitary `assembly which may be secured in or ons. wall of a building 'structure and which combines article vstor-age and mirror facilities in an economical and expeditious manner. Assemblies ccnstructed according to this invention may be emplovedv as medicine cabinets'in household bathrooms and lavatories, as utility cabinets generallinand asarticleor clothing storage cabinets in halls, bedrooms, etc., although it should be understood thatv suitable modiflcationswill be utilized in these respective categories of uses. The primary object of the, invention is the provision of a cabinet structure which is unitary and selfcontained in nature'whereby the same may be distributed and marketed as a "package" item but which nevertheless incorporates as an inherent part of the structure a plurality of adjustable mirrors which may be moved from flush unobs-tructlve positions to angularly related positions normally associated with triple mirrors.

A further object of .the invention is .the provision of a combined cabinet and mirror structure having the attributes mentioned above which is simple in design and economical to construct while possessing a substantially higher degree of utility than heretofore provided in structures' proposed for comparable functions. Another object of the invention involves such design and arrangement of the component parts of the structure that the same may be folded in-to a minimum `space whereby the structure may be built into'the conventional stud building wall or, alternatively, if applied to the outer surface of an existingwali will require a minimum of projection. A still further object of the invention is the provision, in a structure of the general character outline, of improved arrangements for movably mounting or supporting certain of the elements of the assembly and of novel and improved arrangements for manipulating the assembly.

The above and other objects and advantages of L the invention will become apparent upon considerationof .the following detailed speciiication and the accompanying drawing wherein there is specliically disclosed a representative embodiment of vthe invention which is suitable for use as-a combined medicine cabinet and mirror in a household bathroom. As such, this embodiment has detailed design features enabling the structure to be built into a recess in the wall of .the room but it,.should be understood that this illustrated embodiment is exemplary only and not llmitive oi' the invention.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a front elevation of a combined mirror and cabinet structure according to the principles of the invention;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section through the cabinet of Figure i;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical section through the cabinet of Figure 1, the view being taken along the line III-III, of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view, on an enlarged scale, of a detail of the cabinet structure of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, of a latching -arrangement utilized in the structure of Figure 1.

` Referring rst to Figures 2 and 3, which show 'the recess in the building wall in which the illustrated embodiment of lthe invention may be installed, reference numeral I0 designates a conventional stud while reference numeral Il designates a plate of the frame structure of the wall. In accordance with usual practice a plaster stop I2 surround-s the opening of the recess provided by the studs I0 and plate II, it being understood that a stud extends along either side of the recess while a plate is provided both at the top and bottom of the recess.

In accordance with the illustrated embodiment, I may provide an open-faced sheet-metal houslng having a rear wall I3, side walls Il, top and bottom walls I5, and a ange It extending outwardly of the front edges of the walls I4 and I5. Flange I6 overlies the plaster or other surface finish of the walls of the room and is secured to the studs i0 and plates I I by means of the screws shown. In a manner now to be described all the parts of the assembly are carried by the openfaced housing thus described so .that simply by securing the housing in the recess of the building wall the installation of the assembly is accomplished. If, as suggested above, the cabinet structure of the invention is to be hung on the outer surface of an exis-ting wall, suitable and obvious changes would be made in the design of this housing as will be understood.

Secured to the rear wall I3 of the housing is a mirror I1 preferably of the silvered plate glass type and a pre-formed metal strip I8 may be used to frame the mirror and to hold the same against the front surface of the wall I3. Journaled on the inner surface of each of the side walls I4 is a, rod I9 having a laterally extending arm 20 projecting from each of its top and bottom ends. As indicated, the rods l! are swiveled in the mounts 2l, at least two of which are provided on each wall Il, and thus revolve about vertical axes. Arms support the inner or shelf housings now to be described andjin a manner which will also be described.

Normally housed within the walls i4 in side byside relation is a pair of open-faced inner or shelf housings 22 each having rear, side, and top and bottom walls. As in the case of the housing first described, .the housings 22 are preferably formed of sheet metal and may conveniently be formed by stamping and drawing operations as will be understood. For a purpose to be later described the rear outer corner of each of the housings 22 is relieved as shown at 223. One of the arms t@ underlies each of the bottom walls of the two housings 22 and has its outer free end pivotally connected thereto as shown at 2d. Similarly, arm 2d overlies the top wall of each of the housings 22 and is pivotally connected thereto, it being understood t the upper and lower arms 2t the piano hinges 26. A mirror 21 is attached to the front surface of each of the doors 25 and these mirrors are of such dimensions that when the doors 25 are closed and the housings 22 moved back into the retracted positions the surfacesl of the mirrors 21 lie in a common plane substantially flush with the plane of the wall. Doors 25 have forwardly extending knobs 28 which facilitate the opening and closing of the doors and spring catches 29 are employed to frictionally retain the doors in closed position. To prevent the housings 22 from moving outwardly when the doors 25 are opened by' thrusts applied to the knobs 28 and to guide the movement of the inner adjacent edges of the housings 22 upon outward swinging movement of these housings I provide a guide pin 30 extending downwardly from the bottom wall of the housing 22. Guide pin 30 is adapted to slide transversely in a slot 3| formed in the bottom wall I5 of the principal or outer housing. As indicated in Figure 2, the slot 3| extends generally parallel with the-rear wall I3 of the outer housing so that as the arms 20 swing outwardly to move the housing 22 outwardly the 'inner rear edge of the housing 22 is held closely adjacent the rear wall I2. This is desirable since,

when the mirror 21 is swung outwardly into anguiar relation with the mirror I1, the rear or inner edge of the mirror 21 should be fairly close to the mirror I1 to enable maximum use to be made of the triple mirror provided.

The structure described above may be employed, of course, as a conventional medicine cabinet with a mirrored door but being, however, double compartmented and having two doors. It is desirable to facilitate the movement of the housingsv22 and the mirrors carried thereby to outward inclined positions whereby the single plane mirrors of the retracted assembly may be expeditiously and quickly changed into a triple mirror with its attendant advantages. For this purpose, I provide spring biasing means in the form of the torsion springs 32 to normally urge the arms 20 to outward positions. Referring to Figure 4, springs 32 are encircled about the rods i9 and have ends lying against the side' walls Id and opposite ends entrained about adjacent portions of the lowermost of the arms 2l. note Figure 5. To restrain the action. of the springs a2 I provide a pair oireleasable latches. one for each of the housings 22, each consisting of a T-shaped member 33 pivoted to the outer surface ofthe wall I4 as at 3l. Lever 23 has one leg 3b pivptally engaged by a. push-button to which extends out through an opening formed in the flange it and an opposing leg l1 extending through a. slot 38 in the wall I4 into engagement with a pawl 39 formed on the housis adjacent the button 36. It should be observedv that the pawl 39 is of ratchet form so that upon retraction of the housing 22 the latch 31 will automatically again engage the pawl 39 to retain the housing in retracted position.

The housings 22 may, in certain embodiments o f the invention, be provided with shelves and such are shown at 4I in Eigrure 3. It should be understood, however, that the interiors of the housings 22 may be arranged in a variety of f ways-depending on the use to which the cabinet structure is to be put and while I have referred herein to shelf housings the term should of open-faced shelf housings each having an in.

ner side wall and an outer side wall and movably mounted in said housing in side by side relation.

each of said shelf housings supporting at least one shelf and having a mirrored closure door pivotally connected thereto and operative when closed to conceal the shelf or shelves therein, and means swingably and slidably supporting said shelf housings in said first mentioned housing for movement in a horizontal plane in such manner that the adjacent inner side walls of said shelf housings move away from each other in said rst mentioned housing while the outer side walls of said shelf housings move outwardl of said first mentioned housing.

2. A combined mirror and cabinet structure comprising an open-faced housing adapted to be secured in a recess in a building wall, a mirror on the rear wall of said housing, a pair of openfaced shelf housings movably mounted in said rst mentioned housing in side by side relation, each of said shelf. housings having a mirrored door pivotally connected thereto, a. pair of arms swingably mounted on the opposite side edges of said first mentioned housing for movement about vertical axes, the freev ends of .said arms being pivotally connected to said shelf housings for movably supporting the same, and means to guide the inner adjacent side edges of said shelf The relieved or angular side 3. A combined mirror and cabinet structure comprising an open-faced housing, a mirror on the rear wall of said housing,'a pair'of openfaced shelf housings each having an inner side wall and an outer side wall and movably mounted in said first mentioned housing in side by side relation. each of said shelf housings having a mirrored door pivotally connected thereto, means mounting said shelf housings in said first mentioned housing comprising means to movably support said shelf housings in such manner that the outer side walls thereof move outwardly of said rst mentioned housing while the inner side walls thereof move apar-t within said first mentioned housing.

il. Structure according to claim 3 further including biasing means tending to move said outer walls of said shelf housings outwardly of said rst mentioned housing, and latch means having manually engageable operating means accessible from outside said first mentioned housing to restrain the action of said biasing means.y

5. Structure according to claim 3 further characterized in that said mounting means comprises a pair of yokes swingably mounted on opposite sides of said first mentioned housing and each having arms pivotally connected tothe top and bottom of adjacent shelf housings.

6. A combined mirror and cabinet structure comprising in combination an open-faced housing having a mirror attached to its rear Wall, a shelf housing mounted in 'said first mentioned housing and having a front door with a mirror l,

and each having a mirrored door swingably attached thereto, and means mounting said shelf housings in said support for sliding and swinging movement in a horizontal plane whereby the mirrors on said doors may be moved apart vto positions extending angularly outward of said first mentioned mirror.

8. Structure according to claim 7 further characterized in that said mounting means comprises a pair of vertically aligned 4arms on each side of said support and swingablymounted on the support for movement about a vertical axis, the outer free ends of said arms being pivotally connected with the adjacent shelf housings, and means to guide thev movement of the inner adjacent edges of said shelf housings along paths extending generally along said iirst mentioned mirror.v

9. A combined mirror and cabinet structure comprising in combination a recessed support having a. mirror extending along its back wall, a pair of shelf housings movabiy mounted in said support in side by side relation, arms swingably mounted on said support and having free ends pivotally connected with said housings whereby portions of said housings may be swung forwardly and outwardly of said support. a mirnored door swingably mounted on each of said shelf housings, spring means biasing said portions of said housings to outward positions, and readily releasable latch means to restrain the operation of said spring means.

SIMON C. SCHONFIEID.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nie of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS- FoREIGN PA'rsm'rs Country Date Great Britain 1901 GreatBritain Sept. 17, 1925 Number Number 

